Messages - chris23

I liked the quote. I do a lot of writing in my profession. It is easy to fall into a rut and blame it on writer's block, a lack of inspiration, etc. But, the truth of the matter is that there is no better cure for such a state than simply writing and seeing where the words take you. I imagine this is the case in music and art as well.

I enjoy many of the Celer releases, but, with so many albums, I'm afraid I'll never do more than scratch the surface.

Lisa Gerrard - Twilight KingdomOnly available digitally (thanks for the head's up, Judd). This is frigging amazing. This album really highlights the vocals rather than trying to give equal part of the music, and the result is wonderful. As Judd noted in the other thread, it is quite somber and dark, but extraordinarily powerful and emotionally evocative. I don't think Lisa does all the vocals, but perhaps they are simply processed in a way that makes her voice less obvious; many of the vocal tracks seem slowed down, but maybe I'm simply underestimating the low end of Lisa's range. Great stuff!Stream/Buy: http://lisagerrard.com/store/twilightkingdom.html

Just finished Far from Streets. Nice work, Mike! The story is about a couple, Dane and Carolyn, who inherit several acres of property in the wilderness of Oregon, far from civilization. Dane uses this as an opportunity to break free of what he construes as the constraints of modern living, and, over a period of time, builds a cabin on the property where he and Carolyn can escape to on weekends. There is a sense in which they are living off the land, but, on Mondays, they return to their normal life--a life that Carolyn seems to value more than Dane. As the story progresses, however, the new life that Dane has forged becomes increasingly disjointed: it is unclear whether he and Carolyn are alone in the woods, they often feel they are trapped "inside" the wilderness like a bird inside a house, and time itself seems to move in unexpected ways. This is a solid story and a nice debut novella for M. Griffin.

There are many albums I listen to once and go... ummm ... no - I'll be deleting that from the ipod...

But I'm not sure that means it's bad - it just means I didn't like it at all.

Well said.

Some of my favorite artists have released albums that just didn't resonate with me. The vidna obmana one Drone On referenced is one that comes to mind. I also didn't really enjoy some of the collaborations with Asmus Tietchens.

One of the nice things about the interwebs is that it makes it easy to listen to samples before buying. These days I rarely end up with something that I don't enjoy.

Stieg Larsson - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with FireI'm a bit late to the Dragon Tattoo Party, but my wife read these when they came out and really enjoyed them. After re-watching the David Fincher movie, I was inspired to read the series. Will read the third book next.

George Orwell - Animal FarmSome books are more equal than others. A classic and a good re-read, but it always makes me pessimistic about the nature of human and pig affairs.

Christopher Hadnagy - Social Engineering: The Art of Human HackingNon-fiction. A book about the kinds of tricks or hacks that people use to obtain personal information (e.g., bank accounts, passwords). The emphasis is on the social or human side of security rather than the tech side of it. Really interesting.

I find the new work just as interesting as the old work. I've never been a fan of 100% of his releases, but, if I were to compile a list of my favorites, I think they'd span the time spectrum pretty evenly.

I wrote a few lines about the Subradial release in the Now Playing thread. I enjoyed it. Some of the tracks are super cool, and I generally appreciate albums that blur the lines between experimental and ambient. Having said that, I didn't get a lot of replay value from it. I'll listen to it again today now that you've primed me.

The Antonio Testa samples didn't resonate strongly with me, so I didn't buy that release. I would be eager to know if others who bought it enjoyed it.

Deaf Center - RecountRecount is a new EP of two Deaf Center sessions from a few years ago. The two tracks are amazing. The mood is dark and mysterious, not unlike that evoked by some of the tracks from Pale Ravine. Most of the sound comes from piano, bowed guitar, creaking piano stools, and the subdued swells of organ and strings. The packaging is unique and interesting also--the outer case contains an intricate laser cut pattern that reveals, in a mysterious manner, the imagery on the inner sleeve.